NBU Customer:
New Braunfels Utilities (NBU) understands July bills, and the current heat wave and drought have created a great deal of anxiety for our customers. It is our mission to be a trusted community partner. In that spirit, we are working to reduce power costs by initiating interim reductions in the Power Cost Recovery Adjustment (PCRA) for August and September while electric usage is high. Effective August 1 through September 30, 2022, NBU customers will see a reduction of 11.35% or $0.021 per kWh in the electric portion of their bill. This reduction will delay the collection of Winter Storm Uri’s recovery, which currently represents 28% of the PCRA. The remaining portion, 72%, of the PCRA is due to energy market volatility. Though this interim adjustment in the PCRA will not eliminate the PCRA line item on customer bills, it will reduce bills during the hot summer months and this current heat wave. The Winter Storm Uri recovery will still need to be collected, but the adjustment to the PCRA will allow costs to be spread out over the fall and winter when temperatures are expected to be cooler and electric usage decreases.
As more information becomes available regarding PCRA updates, NBU will share that information on its website, Facebook page, community news outlets, and customer email messaging.
Also, as a reminder, NBU will enter the third year of its three-year rate plan on Monday, August 1, 2022. New Braunfels Utilities’ rate increases, for most customers, will be recognized on bills arriving in September. The New Braunfels City Council approved the three-year rate plan in October 2020, with a November 1, 2020, effective date for the first year.
Combined, the Electric Delivered Power and Electric Availability Charge will increase by 10.0%. The average electric bill includes Purchased Power, PCRA, Delivered Power, and Electric Availability Charge costs. Energy market volatility continues to have significant impacts on the PCRA charge. Water rates will increase by 8.0% overall, and the Water Supply Fee will increase by $0.30 to $2.79 per 1,000 gallons. Residential customers whose monthly water usage remains at 7,500 gallons or less will not be charged a water supply fee. Wastewater rates will increase by 13.0%. The water and wastewater bill includes Water Usage, Supply, and Availability charges. For the average customer with electric (1,400 kWh), water (6,500 gallons), and wastewater (3,300 gallons) services, the combined rate increase due to changes in rates (and excluding variable market adjustments reflected in the PCRA) is 5.99% or an increase of $11.59.
The following table summarizes NBU’s FY 2022 and 2023 rate comparison: